(c) no younger than 16* years of age on 1 January in the year of the Tournement, as per ARU two-year window Policy.

That is, the player must be, turning 17 or 18 years of age in the year of the Tournament (born in 1995 or 1996); and

(d) registered for the Participating School team on the Team Registration Form (Appendix 4).

*Exception - In exceptional cases, a player’s physical development, skill level and experience may be such that he or she may be allowed to participate in an age grade competition that is more than two years and no greater than three years above his or her age. Any players this is applicable to must comply with the procedures/documentation outlined in the two-year window policy.

Tournament Rules

IRB Laws of the Game

All matches shall be played in accordance with IRB Laws of the Game of Rugby Union, including the Seven-a-Side and Australian U19 Law Variations. (A copy of the Seven-a-Side and U19 Law Variations applicable to matches in this Tournament is included as Appendix 3).

Duration of Matches

The duration of all pool and semi final matches will be 7-minutes each half with a 1-minute half time. The duration of the Plate and Cup Final matches will be 7-minutes each half with a 2-minute half time. The match referee shall be responsible for keeping time..

Extra Time

NO extra time will be played during the pool matches or finals matches, even in the event of a match being drawn at the end of normal time; no extra time will be played.

Pool Points Calculation

All teams in each Pool will play each other on a round robin basis. Tournament Points will be awarded for the matches on the following basis:

Win 4 points
Draw 2 points
Loss 1 point for loss by 7 points or less
Loss 0 points for loss of more than 7 points
Bonus 1 point for 4 tries or more

Determining Winner - Semi Finals

In case of a draw in the Semi Finals, the team scoring:

(a) most number of tries wins
(b) if tries are equal, the first try scorer wins
(c) if no tries are scored, the first goal wins
(d) if no goals are scored, the highest ranked team from the pool matches is deemed the winner

Determining Final Winner - Plate & Cup

If teams are tied at the end of a Tournament Final match - Plate or Cup; above points a) b) and c) will apply. If in the event, the team are still tied, it will result in a shared title.

Determining Positions - pool (two or more teams)

If two or more teams are equal on points for any position on the table following the round robin pool matches, such position will be determined by:-

(a) number of wins against losses,
(b) the match points for and against difference,
(c) the result of the corresponding fixture between the two teams.

Determining Positions - pool (three or more teams)

If three or more teams are equal on points for any position on the table following the round robin pool matches, such position will be determined by:-

(a) number of wins against losses,
(b) the match points for and against difference,
(c) the team scoring the most tries,
(d) the team scoring the most ponts

Tournament Format and Draw

The Schoolgirls & Schoolboys Tournament draws will be available here.

Schoolgirls - The Tournament will be divided into three pools (A, B & C) of three teams each:

Pool A, B & C:

Pool A, B & C teams will compete in three separate 3-team round robin competitions, with each team playing two matches. Upon the conclusion of these matches teams will be ranked 1-9 based on finishing positions from ALL the pool matches. The top four ranked teams across Pools A, B & C will progress to the Cup Final knockout stages; whilst the bottom five ranked teams will progress to the Plate Final knockout stages.

Plate Final knockout stages:

Teams ranked 8th and 9th after the completion of their respective pool matches will play in the Plate playoff elimintaion match. The winner of this match will progress to the Plate Semi Finals. The loser (9th placed overall) will be eliminated from the Tournament. The teams will play cross over Semi Finals matches with the highest placed ranked team (5th) playing the lowest placed ranked team (winner of 8th/9th plate playoff elimination match), whilst the 6th ranked team plays the 7th ranked team.

The winner of each semi final will progress to the Plate Final, the loser to the 7th/8th playoff.

Cup Final knockout stages:

The teams will play cross over Semi Finals matches with the highest placed ranked team (1st) playing the lowest placed ranked team (4th), whilst the 2nd ranked team plays the 3rd ranked team.

The winner of each semi final will progress to the Cup Final, the loser to the 3rd/4th playoff.

Schoolboys - The Tournament will be divided into four pools – A, B, C & D of three teams each:

Pool A & B, C & D:
Pool A, B, c & D teams will compete in four separate 3-team round robin competitions, with each team playing two matches. Upon the conclusion of these matches teams will be ranked 1-3 based on finishing positions from the pool matches. The teams will then progress to the Cup, Plate and Bowl semi final knockout stages.

Final knockout stages:Bowl: Pool A-D teams ranked 3rd (9th-12th) overall after the completion of their respective pool matches will play in the Bowl Semi Finals i.e. Pool A ranked team 3 v Pool D ranked team 3
The winner of each semi final progressing to the Bowl Final. The losers to the Bowl playoff.

Plate: Pool A-D teams ranked 2nd (5th-8th) overall after the completion of their respective pool matches will play in the Plate Semi Finals i.e. Pool A ranked team 2 v Pool D ranked team 2
The winner of each semi final progressing to the Plate Final. The losers to the Plate playoff.

Cup: Pool A-D teams ranked top (1st-4th) overall after the completion of their respective pool matches will play in the Cup Semi Finals i.e. Pool A ranked team 1 v Pool D ranked team 1
The winner of each semi final progressing to the Cup Final.

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